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Greene's Dream Team

By Bob Greene
The Oprah Winfrey Show  |  January 01, 2006
Dr. Martha Gulati says Bill's high blood pressure may keep him from participating.

Even before their first meeting with Bob, we send the six challengers to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago for a battery of tests. Bob says it's critical to get checked by a doctor before embarking on a weight loss plan.

After the group is pricked, pinched, prodded and measured, Dr. Martha Gulati clears everyone to start on the challenge…with one exception. Bill's electrocardiogram, which measures heart activity, is abnormal and his blood pressure is dangerously high.

Bill says he knows the cause. In the rush of getting chosen for the challenge and coming to Chicago, he'd forgotten to take his prescription blood pressure medication.

When Bill hears his test results, he is seriously worried he'll have to drop out before he even begins. "I'm lying there on the table and they're telling me that you may not be able to do this," he says. "Ironically, because of my health, I couldn't participate in this amazing opportunity to be healthier."

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